Useful PHP Boilerplates and Starter Kits for 2026
You don't need to write everything from scratch every single time. With PHP boilerplates and starter kits, you can set up your projects faster and get to work immediately. Whether you're building a REST API, a full-stack application, or a WordPress plugin, there's a boilerplate that can save you hours—or days—of setup time.
This collection is inspired by the comprehensive approach of Smashing Magazine's front-end boilerplates guide, but focused entirely on PHP. We've curated the most useful PHP boilerplates and starter kits for 2026, organized by category, so you can quickly find exactly what you need.
Each boilerplate has been verified for PHP 8.5 compatibility and includes modern best practices. Let's dive in and explore these valuable assets to accelerate your PHP development workflow!
🚀 Laravel Boilerplates
Laravel remains one of the most popular PHP frameworks, and these boilerplates help you skip the repetitive setup tasks and jump straight into building features.
Laravel Breeze
What it is: A minimal, simple authentication scaffolding for Laravel applications. Perfect for when you need authentication but don't want the complexity of Laravel Jetstream.
Features: Login, registration, password reset, email verification, and session-based authentication. Available with Blade, React, or Vue frontend options.
Best for: Small to medium applications that need basic authentication without extra features.
Link: Laravel Breeze Documentation
Laravel Jetstream
What it is: A complete authentication and team management solution for Laravel. More feature-rich than Breeze, perfect for SaaS applications.
Features: Two-factor authentication, team management, API token management, profile management, browser session management. Available with Livewire or Inertia.js.
Best for: SaaS applications, team-based applications, applications requiring advanced authentication features.
Link: Laravel Jetstream
Laravel Filament
What it is: A full-stack admin panel builder for Laravel. Build beautiful admin panels without writing custom Vue or React components.
Features: Resource management, form builders, table builders, widgets, notifications, and a complete admin interface out of the box.
Best for: Admin panels, content management systems, internal tools, dashboards.
Link: Laravel Filament
Laravel Spark
What it is: A paid SaaS boilerplate for Laravel that includes subscription billing, team management, and invoicing.
Features: Stripe integration, subscription management, team billing, invoicing, coupon management, and more.
Best for: SaaS applications that need subscription billing from day one.
Link: Laravel Spark
Laravel Boilerplate
What it is: An open-source admin panel starter kit built on Laravel with a complete user management system.
Features: Role-based access control, user management, activity logging, admin dashboard, and more.
Best for: Applications requiring admin panels with user management and permissions.
Link: Laravel Boilerplate on GitHub
⚡ Symfony Boilerplates
Symfony's component-based architecture makes it perfect for enterprise applications. These boilerplates help you get started quickly.
Symfony Skeleton
What it is: The official minimal Symfony application skeleton. The perfect starting point for any Symfony project.
Features: Minimal setup, best practices, Composer integration, and ready for Symfony Flex recipes.
Best for: Any Symfony project where you want full control over the setup.
Link: Symfony Skeleton
Symfony Demo Application
What it is: A fully-functional demo application showcasing Symfony best practices and features.
Features: User authentication, blog functionality, comments, pagination, form handling, and more. Perfect for learning Symfony patterns.
Best for: Learning Symfony, understanding best practices, reference implementation.
Link: Symfony Demo on GitHub
API Platform
What it is: A framework for building API-first applications with Symfony. Automatically generates REST and GraphQL APIs.
Features: Automatic API generation, GraphQL support, admin interface, documentation generation, and more.
Best for: API-first applications, headless CMS, microservices, mobile app backends.
Link: API Platform
🔌 API Boilerplates
Building REST or GraphQL APIs? These boilerplates give you a head start with authentication, validation, and documentation.
Slim Framework Skeleton
What it is: A minimal micro-framework perfect for building REST APIs quickly.
Features: Lightweight routing, middleware support, dependency injection, and PSR-7 HTTP messages.
Best for: Simple REST APIs, microservices, lightweight backends.
Link: Slim Framework
Lumen
What it is: Laravel's micro-framework optimized for building fast APIs. Uses Laravel components but optimized for speed.
Features: Fast routing, middleware, Eloquent ORM, validation, and caching. Perfect for high-performance APIs.
Best for: High-performance APIs, microservices, mobile app backends.
Link: Lumen Framework
Phalcon REST API Boilerplate
What it is: A production-ready REST API boilerplate built with Phalcon framework for maximum performance.
Features: JWT authentication, rate limiting, API versioning, error handling, and comprehensive documentation.
Best for: High-performance APIs, applications requiring maximum speed.
Link: Phalcon REST API on GitHub
GraphQL PHP Boilerplate
What it is: A starter kit for building GraphQL APIs with PHP using the webonyx/graphql-php library.
Features: GraphQL schema definition, query resolvers, mutations, subscriptions, and type system.
Best for: GraphQL APIs, modern frontend applications, flexible data fetching.
Link: GraphQL PHP
💼 SaaS Boilerplates
Building a SaaS product? These boilerplates include everything you need: authentication, billing, team management, and more.
Laravel Spark
What it is: A paid SaaS boilerplate for Laravel with subscription billing built-in.
Features: Stripe integration, subscription management, team billing, invoicing, coupon codes, and more.
Best for: SaaS applications requiring subscription billing from the start.
Link: Laravel Spark
Laravel Jetstream
What it is: Complete authentication and team management solution for Laravel applications.
Features: Two-factor authentication, team management, API tokens, profile management, and browser session management.
Best for: SaaS applications, team-based applications, applications with user teams.
Link: Laravel Jetstream
Laravel Cashier
What it is: Official Laravel package for managing subscription billing with Stripe and Paddle.
Features: Subscription management, one-time payments, invoices, coupons, and webhooks.
Best for: Adding subscription billing to existing Laravel applications.
Link: Laravel Cashier
📝 WordPress Boilerplates
WordPress development can be faster with the right starter themes and plugin boilerplates.
Underscores (_s)
What it is: The official WordPress starter theme. A minimal, well-commented theme perfect for building custom WordPress themes.
Features: Semantic HTML5, mobile-first CSS, accessibility-ready, translation-ready, and clean code structure.
Best for: Building custom WordPress themes from scratch.
Link: Underscores Theme Generator
WordPress Plugin Boilerplate
What it is: A standardized, organized, object-oriented foundation for building high-quality WordPress plugins.
Features: Organized file structure, object-oriented architecture, internationalization ready, and follows WordPress coding standards.
Best for: Building WordPress plugins following best practices.
Link: WordPress Plugin Boilerplate on GitHub
WordPress Plugin Boilerplate Generator
What it is: An online tool that generates a WordPress plugin boilerplate with your custom plugin details.
Features: Custom plugin name, slug, author details, and automatically generates correctly-named file structure.
Best for: Quickly generating WordPress plugin boilerplates without manual file renaming.
Link: WordPress Plugin Boilerplate Generator
Sage (Roots)
What it is: A modern WordPress starter theme using Laravel Blade templating and modern build tools.
Features: Blade templating, Webpack, Browsersync, modern JavaScript, and follows modern development practices.
Best for: Modern WordPress development with Laravel-like templating.
Link: Sage WordPress Theme
🌐 Joomla Boilerplates
Joomla development starter templates and component boilerplates to accelerate your workflow.
Joomla Component Generator
What it is: Online tool to generate Joomla component boilerplates with MVC structure.
Features: Automatic MVC structure, admin and site views, database tables, and follows Joomla coding standards.
Best for: Quickly generating Joomla component boilerplates.
Link: Joomla Component Creator
Joomla Module Generator
What it is: Tool to generate Joomla module boilerplates with proper structure.
Features: Module structure, helper classes, language files, and follows Joomla standards.
Best for: Creating Joomla modules quickly.
Link: Joomla Module Creator
🎯 Micro-Framework Boilerplates
Sometimes you don't need a full framework. These micro-framework boilerplates are perfect for lightweight applications.
Slim Framework Skeleton
What it is: Minimal PHP framework for building APIs and small web applications.
Features: Fast routing, PSR-7 HTTP messages, dependency injection, and middleware support.
Best for: REST APIs, microservices, lightweight applications.
Link: Slim Framework
Flight PHP
What it is: An extensible micro-framework for PHP. Fast, simple, and easy to use.
Features: Simple routing, templating, error handling, and JSON responses.
Best for: Simple APIs, quick prototypes, lightweight applications.
Link: Flight PHP
Fat-Free Framework (F3)
What it is: A powerful yet lightweight PHP framework with built-in ORM and routing.
Features: Built-in ORM, routing, templating, validation, and caching. Single file framework.
Best for: Small to medium applications, rapid prototyping, applications needing ORM without heavy frameworks.
Link: Fat-Free Framework
🔐 Security-Focused Boilerplates
Security should be built in from the start. These boilerplates include security best practices by default.
OWASP PHP Security Project
What it is: Security guidelines and boilerplates following OWASP security standards for PHP applications.
Features: Input validation, output encoding, authentication patterns, session management, and security headers.
Best for: Applications requiring high security standards, compliance requirements.
Link: OWASP PHP Security
PHP Secure Headers Boilerplate
What it is: A boilerplate with security headers pre-configured for PHP applications.
Features: Content Security Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Strict-Transport-Security, and more.
Best for: Adding security headers to any PHP application.
Link: Secure Headers on GitHub
🧪 Testing Boilerplates
Start your project with testing in mind. These boilerplates include testing setup and examples.
PHPUnit Skeleton
What it is: The official PHPUnit skeleton for creating test suites.
Features: Test class templates, bootstrap files, and PHPUnit configuration.
Best for: Setting up PHPUnit testing in any PHP project.
Link: PHPUnit Getting Started
Laravel Testing Boilerplate
What it is: Laravel applications come with PHPUnit pre-configured, but this adds additional testing patterns.
Features: Feature tests, unit tests, database testing, API testing, and browser testing examples.
Best for: Laravel applications requiring comprehensive testing.
Link: Laravel Testing Documentation
📦 Project Templates
Complete project templates for common use cases. Clone, customize, and deploy.
Laravel Quick Admin Panel
What it is: A quick-start admin panel template for Laravel applications.
Features: Admin dashboard, user management, role-based access control, and CRUD generators.
Best for: Applications needing admin panels quickly.
Link: Laravel Admin Templates
PHP MVC Boilerplate
What it is: A simple MVC boilerplate in pure PHP without frameworks.
Features: MVC structure, routing, database abstraction, and basic authentication.
Best for: Learning MVC patterns, simple applications, avoiding framework overhead.
Link: PHP MVC Boilerplate on GitHub
REST API Starter Kit
What it is: A complete REST API boilerplate with authentication, validation, and documentation.
Features: JWT authentication, API versioning, rate limiting, Swagger documentation, and error handling.
Best for: Building REST APIs from scratch.
Link: RealWorld API Examples
Quick Reference: Choosing the Right Boilerplate
| Project Type | Recommended Boilerplate |
|---|---|
| SaaS Application | Laravel Spark or Laravel Jetstream |
| REST API | Lumen, Slim Framework, or API Platform |
| Admin Panel | Laravel Filament or Laravel Boilerplate |
| WordPress Theme | Underscores (_s) or Sage |
| WordPress Plugin | WordPress Plugin Boilerplate Generator |
| Microservice | Slim Framework or Lumen |
| Enterprise Application | Symfony Skeleton or API Platform |
| Simple Web App | Laravel Breeze or Fat-Free Framework |
Tips for Using PHP Boilerplates
- Understand Before Customizing: Take time to understand the boilerplate structure before making changes. This prevents breaking core functionality.
- Keep Dependencies Updated: Regularly update Composer dependencies to get security patches and new features.
- Remove Unused Features: Don't keep features you don't need. Remove unused code to reduce complexity and potential security vulnerabilities.
- Follow Framework Conventions: Each boilerplate follows specific conventions. Stick to them for maintainability.
- Document Your Changes: When you customize a boilerplate, document your changes for future reference.
- Test Thoroughly: Even if a boilerplate includes tests, add your own tests for custom functionality.
- Security First: Review security settings in the boilerplate and ensure they match your requirements.
Conclusion
PHP boilerplates and starter kits are invaluable tools that can save you countless hours of setup time. Whether you're building a SaaS application, a REST API, a WordPress plugin, or an enterprise application, there's a boilerplate that can help you get started faster.
Remember: the best boilerplate is the one that matches your project's needs. Don't choose the most feature-rich boilerplate if you only need basic functionality. Start simple, and add complexity as needed.
As we move through 2026, these boilerplates continue to evolve with PHP 8.5 features and modern best practices. By leveraging these resources, you can focus on building the unique features that make your application special, rather than spending time on repetitive setup tasks.
Ready to start building? Pick a boilerplate, clone it, and start coding. Your future self will thank you for the time saved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these boilerplates free?
Most of the boilerplates listed are free and open-source. Laravel Spark is a paid product, but most others are freely available on GitHub or through official documentation.
Which boilerplate should I use for a new project?
It depends on your project requirements. Use the "Quick Reference" table above to match your project type with the recommended boilerplate. For SaaS applications, Laravel Spark or Jetstream are excellent choices. For simple APIs, consider Slim or Lumen.
Can I customize these boilerplates?
Yes! All boilerplates are meant to be customized. They provide a starting point, but you should modify them to fit your specific needs. Just make sure to understand the structure before making major changes.
Do these boilerplates work with PHP 8.5?
Most modern boilerplates are compatible with PHP 8.5. However, always check the boilerplate's documentation or requirements before starting. Some older boilerplates may need updates.
How do I keep a boilerplate updated?
Most boilerplates use Composer for dependency management. Run composer update regularly to get updates. For framework-based boilerplates, follow the framework's update procedures.
Should I use a boilerplate or start from scratch?
Unless you have a very specific reason to start from scratch, using a boilerplate is almost always faster and follows best practices. You can always remove features you don't need.
